Civic body should make preparations before the rains

Open House Monsoon non-preparedness: Should MC be taken to task for its negligence? 

Every year, it is the same old story. Civic authorities do not look into the state of affairs in time. Having a look at the city, one will find roads and pavements in a pitiable condition, making it difficult for commuters. Do the officials concerned not commute on these roads? Are they not aware of the potholes on the streets? Probably, they turn a blind eye and are deaf to the issues raised by the public. They should have proper management, timely plans and implementation of the same, which can do wonders.

Dr Navdeep Kaur

Civic authorities to blame

Yes, civic authorities should be held liable for the problem of waterlogging in the city. The authorities are showing unfavourable attitude towards the general public. As a result, they suffer a lot during the rainy season. Ludhiana is known as Smart City, but unfortunately, it doesn’t have proper sewerage system and sound pipelines, which is the main requirement. Even after the rain stops, it takes a whole day for the water to drain out. Taxes paid by the general public should be utilised in a proper way and the contractors who take bribe and compromise with the quality of pipeline or sewerage system should be strictly punished and awarded long-term punishment as just monetary penalty is not enough.

Ritu Priya

OPEN HOUSE QUESTION

As the mushrooming of illegal colonies continues unabated in and around Ludhiana, gullible investors remain at the receiving end. Despite repeated warnings and claims by the government, little seems to be done on the ground. What should be done to check the menace? Suggestions in not more than 70 words can be sent to ludhiana.feedback@gmail.com

Poor drainage causes problems

It is a common problem each and every year that during monsoon season water accumulates on roads and there is no proper drainage system so far. The local government must be held responsible as this is a recurring problem. It must prepare a concrete plan in advance to meet the problem of laying underground pipes and other sewerage work well before the start of monsoon. It should construct roads after laying proper pipes for drainage of rainwater. Nobody should be allowed to dig roads. Each household or business establishment must provide connection of sewerage, water, phone and electricity by charging the cost from them before carpeting roads and then violators must be punished. We must not throw waste material in open on roads. This may be one of the reasons for accumulation of water on roads. A proper slope must be given to roads for the proper drainage of rainwater. Plastic bags should be banned as it is a big threat not only for this problem but for the environment as well. People should lend their support to the local government to curb such problems as accumulated water may be one of the main causes to produce mosquitoes which spread diseases such as malaria and dengue. After every five year there must be re-carpeting of depleted roads

Dr Mohd Saleem Farooqui

Initiate action against erring officials

It is ripe time for the civic authorities to get set go and take some concrete steps to speed up the work to avoid monsoon mess. The monsoon has struck the northern India 15 days in advance, so it is high time for the municipal corporation to ensure proper drainage of the monsoon water, failing which the city will become a pool with only few showers. Actually, the administration is already late as the work should have been started in the month of April only and till now it have been completed. There is a saying it’s never too late. Therefore, the authorities must take necessary steps to avoid the last minute chaos. Action must be initiated against the erring officials for the undue delay in the progress of the work. The delaying tactics will cost dear both to the administration as well as the residents.

Bir Devinder Singh Bedi

Monsoon preparedness claims fall flat

The heavy rain that lashed the city a few days back was enough to wash away the tall claims of the civic body regarding monsoon preparedness as most of the city areas were submerged in water and overflowing sewers. Waterlogging threw life out of gear. Open manholes and caved-in roads were giving an open invitation to mishaps as no caution boards were installed and no barricading was done to alert the commuters. A majority of the rain harvesting systems were non-functional. Public should ask questions from the elected representatives when they come to seek votes. In case they still do not listen, rallies and demonstrations be organised to put pressure on them. The Mayor, MLAs, councillors and the commissioner should be persuaded to pull the non-performing officials.

RS SEMBHI

Urbanisation, climate change reason for floods

Waterlogged roads and overflowing sewer lines have become a common sight every year during monsoon. Given the unprecedented expansion of the city over the last few years and rising threat of climate change, the civic body should construct underground rainwater storage tanks at critical points to considerably reduce waterlogging during heavy rainfall. A special purpose vehicle (SPV) should be set up to clean the city’s drains and prevent waterlogging on roads. The city’s municipal corporation should ensure prompt remedial action in case of drainage congestion and must be well-equipped to deal with any eventuality on account of heavy rain. Deploying smart water management tools could also be effective in tackling the problem of water logging as these would interpret statistics from water-logged points and provide a holistic picture with robust real-time analytics.

Akash Kumar, Jagraon

MC’s indifferent attitude towards public problems

The civic authorities should be held responsible for their negligence and indifferent attitude towards public issues. Rainwater has becoming a headache for visitors as well as local people during monsoon season. Accumulated rainwater causes inconvenience to the commuters. Given the limited infrastructure of the city to handle such extreme weather, the city has been witnessing flood kind of scenes during monsoon. Open drains built along many roads do not have proper disposal. The district administration should take necessary steps for proper disposal of rainwater on roads.

Adish Sood, Amloh

MC start work on drainage system

During the rainy season, people face great difficulties to walk around or ply vehicles due to flood-like situation in low-lying areas. During this season many houses are flooded with water or are damaged. Many seasonal diseases also appear during the rainy season and people fall sick while some of them lose their lives. This phenomenon is being witnessed by the municipal corporation every year and it does not even try to improve the situation. The municipal corporation must identify waterlogged roads and streets and start work on improving the drainage system. The flood water needs to be pumped out immediately during the rainy days by installing area-wise water pumps and arrange special staff for the purpose. The corporation must earmark special funds for the purposes of pumping out rain water and ensuring all the required facilities for handling the seasonal diseases during rainy season. All dispensaries must be fully equipped with the required medicines, doctors and other medical staff.

Gautam Dev

Clean sewers in advance

Transparency and accountability is must to get the aims and objectives achieved timely. If all of us will do our duties honestly and meticulously, the country will become a heaven. In Ludhiana, one-day rainfall creates mess all over the city. Roads and sewers should be repaired and cleaned well in advance before the arrival of monsoon.

Dr Sunil Chopra

No to illegal road digging

Every year during monsoon, we face the problem of accumulation of water on streets, roads and in low-lying areas. People have to face a lot of difficulties and there is always a fear that some vector-borne diseases will break out. Some areas are dug in advance for laying water and sewerage pipes and left incomplete. Residents face hardships during the rainy season. The municipal corporation must prepare a plan to carry out the work of civic facilities well in advance before the start of the monsoon. Each councillor must look into the progress of work such as re-carpeting of roads, proper drainage system and proper flow of portable water. Nobody should be allowed to dig roads for personal use or other functions without prior permission of the municipal corporation. People must cooperate and assist the local government in maintaining civic amenities so that nobody may face any problem during and after monsoon.

Farzana Khan

Authorities not serious about public issues

It is not a new thing for the residents to witness the negligence and insensitivity of civic authorities towards the public welfare related works. Most of these works in the city are either behind the schedule or poorly done. And the prominent reason behind this pathetic behaviour of authorities is that they do not face any major backlash for their delinquency. They are not held accountable for their poor excuse of work which lead to the discomfort of citizens. As a result, they become inconsiderate towards their duties. Hence, in order to resolve this issue, the government needs to take an initiative to revive a sense of discipline and liability among these authorities. The government should also make it easy for the citizens to reach the Grievances Redressal Forum to take a strict action against those who are responsible for the repeated delays and terrible execution of these welfare works. In a democratic set up, authorities and citizens need to work together.

Rishika Kriti

Turning a blind eye towards problems

Every year the onset of monsoon exposes the appalling state of sewers which becomes a hindrance for the residents. The municipal corporation is answerable for all such mess. The civic authorities are answerable for the solution of public issues yet they turn a blind eye towards them. Their sincere efforts can turn the city into paradise.

KAMALDEEP KAUR